Culture as catalyst: What our poll reveals about innovation in legal functions

As part of our commitment to advancing innovation in legal services, we recently asked our network: What do you believe are the most critical enablers of innovation within a legal function? The results were both revealing and instructive.

A clear majority — 56% — identified a culture of innovation as the most critical enabler. This aligns with what we consistently observe in our work with clients and legal teams globally: that innovation is not simply a product of technology or talent, but of the environment in which they operate. Culture shapes how legal professionals respond to complexity, embrace change, and pursue continuous improvement. Other enablers — effective change management (19%), skilled and adaptable talent (14%), and access to enabling technology (12%) — were also recognised, but notably secondary. These results suggest that while operational levers and technical capabilities are essential, they are most impactful when embedded within a culture that encourages experimentation, collaboration, and resilience.

For legal leaders navigating transformation, the message is clear: investing in culture is not a peripheral initiative — it is a strategic imperative. It requires visible leadership, behavioural modelling, and systems that reward curiosity and calculated risk-taking.

So what can you do next?

Here are five practical steps to begin embedding a culture of innovation within your legal function:

• Understand your current culture: Use surveys or facilitated workshops to understand how innovation is perceived and supported across your team.
• Model innovation from the top: Signal that innovation is a leadership priority by openly supporting experimentation, celebrating learning (even from failure), and allocating time for creative thinking.
• Create safe spaces for experimentation: Establish regular forums — like innovation sprints or legal hackathons — where team members can pitch, prototype, and test new approaches without fear of judgment.
• Recognise and reward innovation: Recognise behaviours that drive progress — such as cross-functional teaming, user-centric thinking, and proactive problem-solving — not just outcomes.
• Build innovation into the fabric: Embed innovation into performance goals, onboarding, and team rituals. Make it part of how the legal function operates, not just a one-off initiative.

Our Legal Operations Advisory team works closely with clients to design and embed the cultural foundations that enable innovation to thrive. From strategic change programmes to capability building and governance design, we help legal functions move from aspiration to action.

We are grateful to all who participated in the poll and contributed to this important dialogue. As we continue to shape the future of legal services, we invite you to reflect: What does a culture of innovation look like in your organisation — and how are you enabling it?

We look forward to continuing this conversation at the FT Innovative Lawyers Global Summit tomorrow.